corporate affairs [Niall Horan AU]

T W E N T Y O N E

T W E N T Y O N E

- H A R R Y -

(this is the same 2 weeks after the break-up as the previous chapter)

His feet barely make a noise as they tap down the linoleum, a plastic shopping bag wrapped in his hand. He worries as he walks. It's far too quiet on this side of the hallway, where all traces of life seem to be devoid. It's four more doors until the name Steve Watson appears on a plastic wood door, a few files slotted in the plastic file container nailed to the door. The nurses in the reception hall wave cheerily as he passes, inducing years of rigid politeness taught by his mother--and forcing him to wave back.

The lights are off when he opens the heavy door and his heart sinks a little bit at the sight before him. She sits curled in the plasticky armchair beside Uncle Steve's hospital bed, her hoodie pulled over her chest like a blanket. A trashy magazine is spilled over her legs, its pages revealing an emblazoned title promising to 'Spill all of Niall Horan's Mystery Conquests'. He shakes his head and sets the plastic bag down on the desk, beginning his routine.

First, he makes a pot of coffee for Elouise. Steve can't drink it, but the smell cheers him up a little. Then he arranges Steve's breakfast just the way he likes, a McMuffin with two pancakes and a side of hash browns, extra ketchup of course. He prepares Elouise's breakfast as well, a Chobani yogurt that she'll only eat half of. Next he cleans up the room a little, clearing bloody tissues from Steve's nightstand and covering Elouise up with one of the extra blankets. It pains him to see her like this. From her crumpled fist he removes a mascara stained tissue and throws it away, wiping the tear-streaks from her cheeks as the morning sun throws beams across her face.

He realizes how beautiful she is, how beautiful she's always been. The sun shifts through the blinds and she groans a little. He removes his hands from her at once, and she folds into herself tighter, looking as if she's trying to protect herself from something.

He moves away from her, turning at the sound of a watery cough and a hoarse whisper. "Water, please, Harry." Steve requests, his eyes still closed. Harry already has the cup ready, waiting with Steve's breakfast.

Steve's shaking, wrinkly hand takes the cup and finishes it in one big gulp, as if he'd spent two months in the desert without any drop of water for miles. When he finishes, he smiles widely and opens his mouth, squirming around just a bit. Harry rushes forward to help move the pillows around until Steve is comfortable, and places the tray on his hospital bed beside his feet.

"She's beautiful when she sleeps, isn't she?" Uncle Steve asks, looking at Elouise's peaceful face. Harry nods silently, his heart breaking a little. That beautiful face haunts him. Steve pulls his tray into his lap and begins picking at his food, letting comfortable silence entangle the two men. "She only stopped crying two hours ago," he explains between a bite of pancake, "I wish there was something I could do."

Harry grimaces, feeling powerless. "I tried, as did Zayn."

"I don't think anyone can do anything except you know, him." Uncle Steve licks his fingers and begins on the hash browns, moaning happily. "Do me a favor, hand me my pills, Harry." Harry fetches them easily, watching Steve's bony body move as he takes three pills, one after another. Steve had begun to loose a lot of weight right before the stroke. He'd always been a slightly meaty man, not fat, but plenty of healthy weight on his bones. Right before the stroke, the pounds just started to fall off of him. Everyone had thought it was the fight with Elouise and the strain of her engagement, but then the stroke had happened... and things began to be explained.

Elouise sighs in her sleep, filling the small hospital room with the peaceful sound. Uncle Steve smiles in her direction, pulling his skin flush against his bones. It's a bit unsettling, his gaunt appearance and his bony little body. "You know, you're supposed to be making me comfortable."